Constructive Figure Drawing
Learn to draw the human figure with realistic muscles and overall anatomical accuracy.
Student Artwork
Constructive Figure Drawing
In this course, you will learn to visually break down the major masses of the human form into simple shapes and then build more complex structures with proper volume, proportions and perspective.
By reviewing the block-in technique, you will be able to visualize the body as a set of planes and properly measure your figures when composing your drawings. In addition, you will understand how the skeletal and muscular systems interact with the pose to create the surface features, or landmarks of the body. Following that, you will learn how light describes form and creates volume as well as essential rendering techniques such as hatching and graining to create exquisitely rendered drawings.
By the end of this course, you will have greatly increased your anatomical knowledge and will also be able to construct realisic human figure drawings in any pose and from any angle (whether they come from a reference, or your imagination!)
- Course Type Traditional Drawing Classes
- Duration 10 weeks
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Skill Level
Level 2 Level 2
Second level classes are for students who have a good foundation in the basics of realistic drawing (such as perspective, proportion, shading and colour theory) and already know how to use Photoshop, but need more in-depth knowledge to create professional and complex artwork.
This level is about expanding knowledge, strengthening skills, and transitioning to the world of concept art and illustration.
- Language English
You can now combine 3, 4 or 5 classes to avail a 5, 10 or 15% discount on your purchase and get a free spot in a webinar this term!
Schedule
Note: This class will be offered online only
Term: Fall 2023
Class Timings:
Mondays from 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT or UTC-4h) with Eric Mannella
Date of first class: September 25th
Duration: 10 weeks
Please note that our classes times are listed as EDT (GMT-4) but that starting on Sunday, November 5th, 2023, all class times will go into EST (GMT-5).
If you are unable to attend the class during the times listed above, you will still have access to video recordings of the class lectures and will still receive personalized feedback from your instructor.
It should be noted that students should set aside a minimum of 3 hours per week to complete assignments for this class. Students may even require a bit more time (4-5 hours per week) depending on how quickly they can work through assignments.
Prerequisites
Skill requirements
To enroll in this course you should have:
- A foundation in realistic anatomical drawing, such as basic perspective, proportions and shading.
- Ideally completed our Drawing the Human Form and Analytical Sketching classes or have equivalent practice/experience.
If you are unsure of your skill level, please contact [email protected] for additional guidance.
Language and age requirements
You should have at least intermediate level English to take this class. Please be advised that there could be artistic nudity in our classes. Students should be 14 years old to enroll.
Minimum Artistic Skills Required
Your current skill level should roughly be on par with the artwork featured here before taking this class.
Required Materials
- 18x24 inch pad of white drawing paper: Canson, Strathmore, or Fabriano brand. NOT newsprint.
- Notebook or sketchbook for taking notes
- 3 sheets of Canson Mi-Teints paper, 19x25 inches, Steel Grey or Felt Grey colour
- Staedtler Mars Lumograph graphite pencils, 3 of each: 2B, HB. 1 of each: H, 2H, 4H
- Terracotta or Earth red Col-Erase pencil
- Derwent Drawing pencil in Chinese White
- White eraser
- Kneadable eraser: the soft grey kind
- Pencil sharpener
- Clear plastic ruler: 30 cm / 12 inches or longer,
- 3 or 4 clips to hold paper onto a drawing board
- Masking tape
- 1 x drawing board, 19-26 inches wide
*List subject to change, the official material list will be sent before the beginning of the term.
Minimum Requirements
- A strong uninterrupted broadband wired or wireless (3G or 4G/LTE) connection with a minimum 600kbps bandwidth (up/down).
- A Laptop/Desktop computer equipped with a single core processor (at least 1 GHZ processing speed) or a smartphone/tablet with equivalent processing capabilities
- Good speakers/earphones to listen to the classes
- Browser - IE7+, Safari 5+, Firefox, Chrome
- Operating System - Windows XP, Mac OS 10.6, Linux distro based on 3.0 kernel, Android 5.0, iOS 10
Syn Studio Recommendations
- A strong uninterrupted broadband wired or wireless (3G or 4G/LTE) connection with a minimum 1.5Mbps bandwidth (up/down). You can also connect to the internet directly using your ethernet cable to improve your experience.
- Laptop/Desktop computer equipped with a dual core processor with at least 2 GHZ processing speed and a 4 GB RAM
- High Quality speakers/earphones to listen to the classes
- Browser & Operating System - We recommend using the latest version of the browser and operating system for an optimal online classroom experience.
Course Outline
*Please note that the following outline is subject to change slightly at the teacher's discretion.
Weeks 1 and 2: Gain proficiency in the block-in technique through a series of simple exercises designed to teach you to effectively simplify and construct figures from life. You will learn to efficiently measure proportion and create a perfectly composed drawing within your workspace.
Weeks 3 and 4: Become proficient in representing the major masses of the human body as a combination of measured cubic, spherical and various curvilinear forms so you can represent the human body and its major structures from imagination with proper volume, depth and proportion.
Week 5: Learn how to visualize the head as a series of planes to best understand form and lighting so you can accurately construct and render the human head from imagination.
Week 6: Learn how the skeletal and muscular systems interact with the pose to create the surface features of the body that you need to represent in your drawing.
Week 7: Learn how light describes form and creates volume so you can apply correct shading to any figure that you construct and render it to look 3-dimensional.
Weeks 8, 9 and 10: Become proficient in rendering techniques such as hatching and graining so your finished drawings appear realistic and lifelike. Finally, combine all that you’ve learned to construct a full figure and render it exquisitely.
Registration
You can now combine 3, 4 or 5 classes to avail a 5, 10 or 15% discount on your purchase and get a free spot in a webinar this term!
You will soon receive an email receipt for your purchase.
Please bring a photo ID for the first day of class.
Your transaction was not completed. Please try again. If the problem persists, please email us at [email protected] or call us at 514-998-7625
Questions and Assistance
Feel free to send us an email at [email protected] or give us a call at 514-998-7625
Please consult our FAQ; most of the commonly asked questions are answered in detail there. If you cannot find the answer to your question, please feel free to fill out the form below, or, send an email to [email protected]